


Olive branches

by BlushLouise



Category: Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: Enemies to Friends, Gen, Lost in the Woods, Sort Of, Unexpected Friendship, zine fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-08
Updated: 2021-01-08
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:27:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28454604
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlushLouise/pseuds/BlushLouise
Summary: A twig broke behind him, and he froze. Then cursed himself for showing even that much weakness. There was nothing in this wood that could harm him, after all. He’d heard the Aerialbots fly away.Sure enough, it was just Rumble. The cassette stared at Starscream’s rather undignified position, and Starscream sneered. “What’re you looking at, brat?”For the Proximity zine!
Relationships: Starscream & Rumble
Comments: 10
Kudos: 26





	Olive branches

The forest was thick, and dense, and dark, and way too full of trees. Starscream would have hated it on principle, even if he hadn’t crashed into it. As it was, he was tempted to shoot his way out.

Well, he would if he could fly. Or walk. Or even limp.

And slag it all, it _hurt_.

Getting the branches out of his thrusters was much more difficult than he’d expected. He’d tried burning the damn things out, and near set the whole forest on fire – which was a worthwhile goal, but _not_ with him still grounded in it.

He’d lost track of Rumble. Hopefully the Aerialbots had, too. If he’d been shot down… Slag, Soundwave would _kill_ Starscream.

Well. He couldn’t fly, or walk, or limp, but he could crawl. So crawl he did. Primus knew Megatron wouldn’t bother to look for him, so he needed to get himself out of this.

At least he knew more or less where he was, which direction to go. It would take him a while, but he’d get there.

A twig broke behind him, and he froze. Then cursed himself for showing even that much weakness. There was nothing in this wood that could harm him, after all. He’d heard the Aerialbots fly away.

Sure enough, it was just Rumble. The cassette stared at Starscream’s rather undignified position, and Starscream sneered. “What’re you looking at, brat?”

Rumble grinned, shaking his head. “Nothin’. I shoulda been used to seein’ ya on hands and knees like that. Megatron kicks ya to the floor often enough.”

Starscream would have charged his null-rays if he could. But he’d lost one in the fall, and the other had sparked alarmingly after his crash and now refused to respond.

“Shut up,” he snarled instead. “I’m going back to base.”

Rumble’s visor brightened. “Like that? A bit pointless to start grovelin’ all the way out here, ain’t it?”

Oh, now Starscream _really_ wanted to shoot him. He turned away before he could give in to the temptation and punch him into a tree. “Get lost.”

Of course Rumble didn’t obey. “What’s wrong with yer legs?” He sounded curious rather than disdainful, which was enough to make Starscream look back at him again.

“This forest,” Starscream ground out. “I’ve got half of it jammed in there.”

Rumble snorted. “Yeah, I see that. Want me to pull it out?”

“Think I haven’t tried that already? It’s _stuck_.”

Rumble grinned, held up his hands. “Yeah, but my hands are way smaller than yers. Don’t move, and don’t fry me. Soundwave would beat ya to a pulp.”

Before Starscream had the chance to protest, tiny cassette hands were digging into his thrusters.

“Wow, that really is stuck,” Rumble commented. “Ya can’t fly with this.”

Starscream rolled his optics. “Tell me something I don’t know. Anyway, why do you bother? Surely Soundwave is on his way to get you by now.”

“Yeah, he’s comin’.” There was a tug and a flash of pain, and then a grating noise as something came loose. “Hah, gotcha, slagger! But he says there’s a no-rescue order on _you_ , so ya need to get yerself outta here.” He looked up at Starscream’s face. “Wanna tell me why there’s a no-rescue order on ya?”

Starscream shrugged. “With all the stuff you and the others have seen, do you really have to ask?”

Rumble grinned. “Nah.” He tugged again, and a warning vanished from Starscream’s HUD. “Damn thick branches. That’s gotta hurt.”

Rumble worked methodically, feeling for where the branches were interlocked, easing them loose. He showed more care and consideration than Starscream would have expected. “Why do you bother?” he asked again, voice soft. It didn’t make sense.

“It’s the right thing to do.”

“That’s a very Autobot sentiment.”

Rumble looked up, an amused smirk on his face. “Don’t gimme that. Team of spies, remember? I know how you and yer trine treat each other. Autobot sentiment my aft.” He twisted something, and a whole cascade of foliage came loose. “Ya don’t like that, well, just owe me one. How’s that?”

It took Starscream a moment to realize that Rumble was asking about his thruster and not his opinion. He made sure Rumble’s hands were clear before gradually heating his thruster up.

Nothing caught fire. No new errors or warnings. “It’s good,” he said, surprised. “I think you got it.”

“Great!” Rumble smiled and moved over to his other leg. “One down, one to go. At least this ain’t so bad as when Beaky got herself tangled up in barbed wire.”

Starscream winced. “How the slag…?”

That launched Rumble into a story about Laserbeak and the dangers of flying at night, especially when you were distracted by something shiny. In return, Starscream told Rumble about the time Skywarp had been so distracted by Acid Storm’s glossy wings, he’d warped himself _into_ a wall. Which led to more stories, and more chuckling, and suddenly Starscream’s other thruster was free as well.

“Thank you.” He wouldn’t be able to walk on them comfortably, but they worked. He could transform and fly again.

“Yer welcome.” Rumble cocked his helm, looked up at him. “Ya know, ya ain’t as bad as they say.”

Starscream blinked. “Um. Thanks.” He glanced up at the dark sky, trying to judge the time left until dawn. “Soundwave far away?”

“Nah, he’ll be here soon. I’m stayin’ put until then.” Rumble waved Starscream on. “You can leave, if ya want.”

Starscream considered before shaking his head. “I’ll wait. We can fly home together. Got some more funny stories?”

“Oh, yeah!” Rumble’s face split in a wide grin. “So, get this, Ravage hates feathers, right? And then this one time...”

Starscream listened, and laughed, and told a few stories of his own. He didn’t mind that Soundwave didn’t appear until almost dawn.

The woods suddenly weren’t as bad as before.


End file.
